View source for Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma

{{Short description|Concept within Buddhism}}
{{Buddhism}}
The '''Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma''' ([[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]: ''tridharmacakra-pravartana'', [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]]: ''chos kyi 'khor lo gsum'') is a [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna Buddhist]] framework for classifying and understanding the teachings of the [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist Sūtras]] and the teachings of [[The Buddha|Buddha Śākyamuni]] in general.<ref name=":0">Keown, Damien (2004). ''A Dictionary of Buddhism,'' p. 302. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-860560-7}}.</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=three turnings of the wheel |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803104448376 |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Oxford Reference |language=en }}</ref> This classification system first appears in the ''[[Sandhinirmocana Sutra|Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra]]'' and in the works of the [[Yogachara|Yogācāra]] school.<ref name=":0" /> This classification system later became prevalent in various modified forms in [[Tibetan Buddhism]] as well as in [[East Asian Buddhism]].
According to the three turnings schema, the Buddha's first sermons, as recorded in the [[Tripiṭaka]] of [[early Buddhist schools]], constitute the "first turning" (which include all [[śrāvakayāna]] texts). The sūtras which focus on the [[Śūnyatā|doctrine of emptiness]] (''śūnyatā'') like the ''[[Prajnaparamita|Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra]]'' corpus, are considered to comprise the "second turning" (which in this schema is considered provisional), and the sūtras which teach Yogācāra themes (especially the [[Yogachara#The Three Natures and Emptiness|three natures doctrine]]), like the ''Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra,'' comprise the final and ultimate "third turning".<ref name=":1" />
In [[East Asian Buddhism]], this classification system was expanded and modified into different doctrinal classifications called "panjiào" (判教), which were developed by different [[Chinese Buddhism|Chinese Buddhist]] schools.<ref>Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun, ''Gyōnen’s Transmission of the Buddha Dharma in Three Countries'', BRILL, 2018, p. 28.</ref><ref>Mun, Chanju (2006). ''The History of Doctrinal Classification in Chinese Buddhism: A Study of the Panjiao Systems.'' University Press of America.</ref>
==Overview==
[[file:Buddha's first sermon at Sarnath. Gandhara.Met.jpg|thumb|A century century [[Gandharan Buddhism|Gandharan]] depiction of the Buddha's first sermon at [[Sarnath]] (in which he taught the ''[[Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta|Dharmacakrapravartana Sūtra]]'').]]
===First Turning===
The first turning is traditionally said to have taken place at Deer Park in [[Sarnath]] near [[Varanasi]] in northern [[India]]. It consisted of the teaching of the [[Four Noble Truths|four noble truths]], [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent arising]], the [[Skandha|five aggregates]], the [[Skandha#Eighteen Dhātus and Four Paramatthas|sense fields]], [[Anattā|not-self]], the [[Bodhipakkhiyādhammā|thirty seven aids to awakening]] and all the basic Buddhist teachings common to all Buddhist traditions and found in the various [[Sutta Pitaka|Sutrapitaka]] and [[Vinaya]] collections.<ref name=":4">Padmakara Translation Group; Longchenpa (2020). ''Finding Rest in Illusion: The Trilogy of Rest, Volume 3'', Translators' Introduction, p. xxv. Shambhala Publications.</ref><ref>Dalai Lama, Thubten Chodron (2017). ''Approaching the Buddhist Path,'' pp. 99-100. Simon and Schuster.</ref><ref>Ford, James L. (2006). ''Jōkei and Buddhist Devotion in Early Medieval Japan,'' p. 39. Oxford University Press.</ref><ref name=":5">Carr, Brian; Mahalingam, Indira (2002). ''Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy,'' p. 349''.'' Routledge.</ref> These teachings are known as the "[[Hinayana]]" teachings (lesser or small vehicle) in Mahayana.<ref name=":5" /> In [[East Asian Buddhism]], it is called "the teaching of existence" (有相法輪) since it discusses reality from the point of view of phenomena ([[Abhidharma|dharmas]]) which are explained as existing.<ref name=":6">Muller, A. Charles (2012). ''The Collected Works of Korean Buddhism: 諸敎學 Doctrinal treatises: selected works,'' p. 34''.'' Volume 6 of The Collected Works of Korean Buddhism, Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.</ref>
The [[Abhidharma]] teachings of the various [[śrāvakayāna]] (i.e. non-Mahayana) traditions (such as [[Vaibhāṣika|Vaibhasika]] and [[Theravada]]) are generally also placed into this category.
===Second Turning===
[[file:Mulagandhakuti in Vulture Peak.jpg|thumb|[[Vulture Peak]] (Gṛddhakūṭa) where some of the second turning sutras like the [[Prajnaparamita|Prajñāpāramitā]] sutras are said to have been taught.]]
The second turning is said to have taken place at [[Vulture Peak]] Mountain in [[Rajagriha]], in [[Bihar]], India. The second turning emphasizes the teachings of [[shunyata|emptiness]] (Skt: ''śūnyatā'') and the [[bodhisattva]] path.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" />  The main sutras of this second turning are considered to be the ''[[Prajnaparamita|Prajñāpāramitā]] sutras''.<ref name=":4" /> In East Asian Buddhism, the second turning is referred to as "the teaching that the original nature of all things is empty, that signs are not ultimately real" (無相法輪).<ref name=":6" />
The second turning is also associated with the bodhisattva [[Manjushri]].<ref name=":4" /> The analytical texts of the [[Madhyamaka]] school of [[Nagarjuna]] are generally included under the second turning.<ref>Randall Collins, ''The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change.'' Harvard University Press, 2000, pages 221-222.</ref>
===Third Turning===
==== Yogācāra sources ====
[[File:MET_1991_384.jpg|thumb|421x421px|16th century Japanese scroll of bodhisattva [[Maitreya]], who is considered to be an important source for the third turning teachings.]]
The first sutra source which mentions the "three turnings" is the ''[[Sandhinirmocana Sutra|Ārya-saṃdhi-nirmocana-sūtra]]'' (''Noble sūtra of the Explanation of the Profound Secrets),'' the foundational sutra of the [[Yogacara|Yogācāra]] school.<ref name=":0" /> Major ideas in this text include the storehouse consciousness (''[[Eight Consciousnesses|ālayavijñāna]]''), and the doctrine of cognition-only (''vijñapti-mātra'') and the "three natures" (''trisvabhāva''). The ''Saṃdhinirmocana'' affirms that the teachings of the earlier turnings authentic but are also incomplete and require further clarification and interpretation.<ref>Williams, Paul (2004), ''Mahayana Buddhism'', Bury St. Edmunds, England: Routledge, p. 79, {{ISBN|0-415-02537-0}}</ref> According to the ''Saṃdhinirmocana,'' the previous two turnings all had an "underlying intent" which refers to the three natures (and their threefold lack of essence), the central doctrine of the third turning.<ref>Keenan, John (2000), ''Scripture on the Explication of the Underlying Meaning'', pp. 47-49. Berkeley: Numata Center, {{ISBN|1-886439-10-9}}.</ref>
The ''Saṃdhinirmocana'' also claims that its teachings are the ultimate and most profound truth which cannot lead to a nihilistic interpretation of the Dharma which clings to non-existence (unlike the second wheel, which can be misinterpreted in a negative way) and is also incontrovertible and irrefutable (whereas the second wheel can be refuted).<ref>Keenan, John (2000), ''Scripture on the Explication of the Underlying Meaning'', p. 43. Berkeley: Numata Center, {{ISBN|1-886439-10-9}}.</ref> As such, the third turning is also called "the wheel of good differentiation" (''suvibhakta''), and "the wheel for ascertaining the ultimate" (''[[Two truths doctrine|paramartha]]-viniscaya'').<ref>Westerhoff, Jan (2018). ''The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy'', p. 186. Oxford University Press.</ref> In East Asian Buddhism, the third turning is referred to as “ultimate turn of the Dharma wheel” (無上法輪).<ref name=":6" />
[[file:Asanga.JPG|thumb|Tibetan depiction of [[Asanga]] receiving teachings from [[Maitreya]].]]
Other [[Mahayana sutras|Mahāyāna sutras]] are considered to be associated with the [[Yogacara|Yogācāra]] school, and thus, with the third turning (though these sutras themselves do not mention "three turnings"). These include the ''[[Lankavatara Sutra|Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra]]'' and the ''[[Ghanavyūha Sūtra]],'' both of which discuss Yogācāra topics like the ''[[Eight Consciousnesses|ālayavijñāna]],'' the three natures and mind-only [[idealism]] as well as [[Buddha-nature|tathāgatagarbha]] ideas.<ref>Harris, Ian Charles (1991). ''The Continuity of Madhyamaka and Yogācāra in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism,'' p. 78''.'' BRILL.</ref><ref>Tzohar, Roy (2018). ''A Yogacara Buddhist Theory of Metaphor.'' p. 15. Oxford University Press.</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Ghanavyūhasūtra - Buddha-Nature |url=https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Texts/Ghanavy%C5%ABhas%C5%ABtra |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=buddhanature.tsadra.org}}</ref><ref name=":04">{{Cite web |title=Laṅkāvatārasūtra - Buddha-Nature |url=https://buddhanature.tsadra.org/index.php/Texts/La%E1%B9%85k%C4%81vat%C4%81ras%C5%ABtra |access-date=2022-12-28 |website=buddhanature.tsadra.org}}</ref>
The teachings of the third turning are further elaborated in the numerous works of Yogācāra school masters like [[Asanga|Asaṅga]], [[Vasubandhu]], [[Sthiramati]], [[Dharmapala of Nalanda|Dharmapāla]], [[Śīlabhadra]], [[Xuanzang]], [[Jñanasrimitra|Jñānaśrīmitra]] and [[Ratnākaraśānti]].
In his ''Commentary on Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes'' (''[[Madhyanta-vibhaga-karika|Madhyāntavibhāga]]-bhāṣya''), Vasubandhu comments on the three turnings and how they relate to the three natures. According to Vasubandhu, the first turning teaches the non-existence of the self (atman) through an analysis of the [[Skandha|five aggregates]]. The second turning then establishes how the very (false) appearance of a (non-existent) self comes about from its aggregate parts through [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent arising]]. The third turning then, explains the fundamental nature of emptiness itself, which is how the non-existence of the self exists, i.e. the existence of the non-existent as explained by the three natures. In this sense, the ultimate truth in the third turning is said to be both existent and non-existent.<ref>Edelglass et al. ''The Routledge Handbook of Indian Buddhist Philosophy,'' pp. 277-278. Taylor & Francis.</ref>
In his ''Commentary on the'' ''[[Cheng Weishi Lun|Cheng weishi lun]]'' (成唯識 論述記; [[Taishō Tripiṭaka|Taishō]] no. 1830), [[Kuiji]] (a student of Xuanzang), lists the following as the most important sutras for the Yogācāra school:<ref>[https://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/zh/T1830 <nowiki>T1830 成唯識論述記 [T43.229c29-230a1], CBETA</nowiki>]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Shih |first=Jen-Kuan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gnjTAAAAMAAJ&q=%22%E5%A6%82%E4%BE%86%E5%87%BA%E7%8F%BE%E5%8A%9F%E5%BE%B7%E8%8E%8A%E5%9A%B4%22+yogacara |title=Doctrinal Connection Between Panjiao Schemata and Human Capacity for Enlightenment in Jizang's and Kuiji's Thought |date=2006 |publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison |language=en}}</ref>
# ''[[Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra]]'' (華嚴)
# ''Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra'' (深密)
# *''Tathāgata-utpāda-guṇa-alaṃkāra-vyūha'' (如來出現功德莊嚴)
# ''Mahayana-abhidharma-sutra'' (阿毘達磨)
# ''[[Lankavatara Sutra|Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra]]'' (楞迦)
# ''[[Ghanavyūha Sūtra]]'' (厚嚴)
In [[East Asian Yogācāra|Chinese Yogācāra]], important treatises for the third turning included the ''[[Yogacarabhumi-sastra|Yogācārabhūmi-śastra]]'', Xuanzang's ''[[Cheng Weishi Lun]]'', and the ''Daśabhūmikasūtraśāstra'' (''Shidi jing lun'' 十地經論, T.26.1522, also called ''Dilun''), which is [[Vasubandhu|Vasubandhu's]] commentary on the ''[[Ten Stages Sutra|Daśabhūmika-sūtra]]'' (''Shidi jing'' 十地經).<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Muller |first=A.C. |title=Quick Overview of the Faxiang School 法相宗 |url=http://www.acmuller.net/yogacara/schools/faxiang.html |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=www.acmuller.net}}</ref><ref>Tagawa, Shun'ei (2014). ''Living Yogacara: An Introduction to Consciousness-Only Buddhism'', pp. xx-xxi.. Wisdom Publications. {{ISBN|978-0-86171-895-5}}.</ref>
==== Buddha-nature teachings ====
The Indian Yogācāra tradition eventually developed various works which synthesized Yogācāra with the [[Buddha-nature|tathāgatagarbha]] thought found in various Mahayana sutras''.''<ref name=":12">Lusthaus, Dan (2018). [http://www.acmuller.net/yogacara/articles/intro.html ''What is and isn't Yogacara.'']</ref> This synthesis merged the ''tathāgatagarbha'' teaching with the doctrine of the ''ālayavijñāna'' and the three natures doctrine. Some key sources of this Indian tendency are the ''[[Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra]]'', ''[[Ghanavyūha Sūtra]],'' and the ''[[Ratnagotravibhāga]].''<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":3" />
This Yogācāra-Tathāgatagarbha tradition became influential in [[East Asian Buddhism]] and in Tibet. The translator [[Paramartha|Paramārtha]] (499-569 CE) was known for promoting this syncretic Yogācāra and for defending the theory of the "stainless consciousness" (''amala-vijñāna''), which is revealed once the ''ālaya-vijñāna'' is purified.<ref>Lusthaus, Dan, ''Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun,'' Routledge, 2014, p. 274.</ref>
As noted by [[Jan Westerhoff]], the identification of buddha-nature teachings with the Yogācāra's third turning happened not only because several sutras (like the ''Laṅkāvatāra'') explicitly synthesized the two doctrines, but also because:<blockquote>the notion of the ''tathāgatagarbha'' lines up more naturally with the characterization of ultimate reality we find in Yogācāra than with what we find in [[Madhyamaka]]. The latter's characterization of ultimate reality in terms of emptiness is primarily a negative one, it describes it in terms of what is not there (a substantially existent core, ''[[svabhava]]''), while the former's is more positive, postulating a foundational consciousness that is the source of all appearance.<ref>Westerhoff, Jan (2018). ''The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy'', p. 187. Oxford University Press.</ref></blockquote>Due to the influence of Yogācāra-Tathāgatagarbha thought, some Buddhist traditions also consider the [[Buddha-nature|tathāgatagarbha]] (also known as ''buddha-nature'') teachings as part of the third turning. For example, the [[Jonang]] master [[Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen|Dölpopa Shérap Gyeltsen]] (1292-1361) held that the [[Tathāgatagarbha sūtras|''Tathāgatagarbha sutras'']] contained the "final definitive statements on the nature of ultimate reality, the primordial ground or substratum beyond the chain of dependent origination."<ref>Cyrus Stearns, ''The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen'', State University of New York Press, Albany, 1999, p. 87</ref>
For Dölpopa, some of the key “sutras of definitive meaning” included: the ''[[Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra]]'', ''[[Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra]]'', ''[[Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra]]'', ''[[Aṅgulimālīya Sūtra]]'', ''[[Ghanavyūha Sūtra]]'', ''[[Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra|Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra]]'', ''[[Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra]]'', and the ''[[Sandhinirmocana Sutra|Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra]].''<ref>Brunnholzl, Karl (2014). ''When the Clouds Part, The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra,'' pp''.'' 4-5''.'' Boston & London: Snow Lion.</ref> Dölpopa's classification of Tathāgatagarbha sutras was influential on numerous later Tibetan authors.<ref>Brunnholzl, Karl (2014). ''When the Clouds Part, The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra,'' pp''.'' 6-9''.'' Boston & London: Snow Lion.</ref> The [[Rimé movement|Rime]] master [[Jamgon Kongtrul]] (1813–1899) also held that these buddha-nature sutras belonged to the definitive third turning.<ref>Brunnholzl, Karl (2014). ''When the Clouds Part, The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra, p.'' 881''.'' Boston & London: Snow Lion.</ref>
The teachings found in several of the "treatises of [[Maitreya]]", such as the ''[[Madhyanta-vibhaga-karika|Madhyāntavibhāgakārikā]]'', ''[[Ratnagotravibhāga]]'' and the ''[[Dharma-dharmata-vibhaga|Dharmadharmatāvibhāga]]'' are also considered to be part of the third turning by several schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Furthermore, in [[Tibetan Buddhism]], [[Vajrayana|Buddhist tantra]] and its [[Tantras (Buddhism)|associated scriptures]] are sometimes considered to also be part of the third turning.<ref>Ray,  Reginald A. Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet, 2002, p. 126.</ref>
=== Definitive and provisional ===
The schema of the three turnings found in Yogācāra texts identify Yogācāra teachings as the final and definitive interpretation of the Buddha's teaching. However, the schema was later adopted more widely, and different [[schools of Buddhism]], as well as individual Buddhist thinkers, give different explanations as to whether the second or third turnings are "definitive" (Skt: ''nītārtha'') or "provisional" or "implicit" (Skt: ''neyārtha,'' i.e. requiring interpretation). In the context of [[Buddhist hermeneutics]], "definitive" refers to teachings which need no further explanation and are to be understood as is, while "implicit" or "provisional" refers to teachings which are expedient and useful but must be further interpreted and drawn out.<ref>Lopez, Donald S. ''Buddhist Hermeneutics'', 1993, Introduction.</ref>
In the Tibetan tradition, some schools like [[Nyingma]] hold that the second and third turnings are both definitive. Nyingma works tend to emphasize the complementarity of the second and third turning teachings.<ref>Padmakara Translation Group; Longchenpa (2020). ''Finding Rest in Illusion: The Trilogy of Rest, Volume 3'', Translators' Introduction, p. xxvii. Shambhala Publications.</ref> Meanwhile, the [[Gelug]] school considers only the second turning as definitive. The Gelug founder [[Je Tsongkhapa|Tsongkhapa]] rejected the definitive nature of the [[Yogacara|Yogācāra]] texts and instead argued that the definitive sutras are only those which teach [[Śūnyatā|emptiness]] as the ultimate meaning. On this, he relies on the ''[[Akṣayamatinirdeśa Sūtra|Teachings of Akshayamati Sutra]].''<ref>Newland, Guy (2008–2009), ''Introduction to Emptiness: As Taught in Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path'', p. 20.  Ithaca</ref> The [[Jonang]] school on the other hand, see only the third turning sutras as definitive, and hold the texts of the second turning as provisional.<ref name=":5" />
==== Similar ideas in other sūtras ====
Other Mahāyāna sutras also mention a similar idea of the Buddha teaching in different phases, some which are provisional and others which are considered final.
The ''[[Dhāraṇīśvararāja sūtra]]'' (also known as the ''Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa''), mentions that it is part of the “irreversible turning” and uses the metaphor of the gradual process of refining [[beryl]] to describe the way the Buddha teaches in three phases of teaching: 1. "discourses on impermanence, suffering, no self, and unattractiveness, which provoke revulsion", 2. "discourses on emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness" and finally 3. "discourses known as ''The Irreversible Wheel of the Dharma'' and ''The Purification of the Triple Sphere.''"<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Burchardi |first=Anne |title=The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata |url=https://read.84000.co/translation/toh147.html |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=84000 Translating The Words of The Buddha |language=en}}</ref> Tibetan exegesis has generally seen this passage as referring to the three turnings (though the sutra itself does not use this terminology).<ref name=":2" /> The ''[[Dhāraṇīśvararāja sūtra|Dhāraṇīśvararāja]]'' is also important because it is a key source for the ''[[Ratnagotravibhāga]]'', an influential buddha-nature focused treatise.<ref name=":2" />
The ''[[Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra]]'' states that its teachings are the highest and ultimate [[Dharma]].<ref>Blum, Mark (trans.) (2013). ''The Nirvana Sutra: Volume 1'', p. 291. BDK America, University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-1-886439-46-7}}.</ref> It also states that teachings on [[Anattā|not-self]] and emptiness are provisional [[Upaya|skillful means]].<ref>Blum, Mark (trans.) (2013). ''The Nirvana Sutra: Volume 1'', pp. xvi-xvii, 225-233. BDK America, University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-1-886439-46-7}}.</ref> The ''Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' considers the highest teachings to be those of the "vaitulya" ("well-balanced", or "extensive") Mahāyāna sūtras (such as the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa'' itself) which teach the eternal nature of the [[Tathāgata|Tathagata]], and how "all living beings possess buddha-nature."<ref>Blum, Mark (trans.) (2013). ''The Nirvana Sutra: Volume 1'', pp. xvi-xvii, & p. 286. BDK America, University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-1-886439-46-7}}.</ref>
== Similar classifications ==
===Fourth Turning===
[[Vajrayana]] schools sometimes refer to [[Vajrayana|Buddhist tantra]] as the "fourth turning." As explained by [[Surya Das|Lama Surya Das]], some traditions consider [[Dzogchen]] as a fourth turning.<ref>Lama Surya Das, Awakening the Buddha Within: Eight Steps to Enlightenment, p. 63.</ref>
=== East Asian Madhyamaka school ===
According to Japanese scholar [[Takakusu Junjiro|Junjirō Takakusu]], the [[East Asian Mādhyamaka|Sanron]] (Sanlun) [[Madhyamaka]] school divided the teaching into three [[Dharmachakra|dharmacakras]] as well, but with different definitions for each:<ref>Junjirō Takakusu, The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1998, p. 109.
<br /></ref>
# The root wheel of the ''[[Avatamsaka Sutra|Avatamsaka sutra]].''
# The branch wheel of [[Hinayana]] and [[Mahayana]] texts.
# The wheel that contracts all branches so as to bring them back to the root, the [[Lotus Sutra|Lotus sutra]].
=== Tiantai ===
The Chinese [[Tiantai]] school developed a doctrinal classification schema ([[Classification of Buddha's teaching|panjiào]]) which organized the Buddhas teachings into five periods (五時):<ref>A. Charles Muller (trans), Outline of the Tiantai Fourfold Teachings 天台四教儀 Compiled by the Goryeo Śramaṇa Chegwan 高麗沙門諦觀 http://www.acmuller.net/kor-bud/sagyoui.html</ref>
# [[Avatamsaka Sutra|Flower Ornament]] period 華嚴時, The sudden teaching is delivered as the ''Avatamsaka sutra'', containing the direct content of the Buddha’s enlightenment experience. Few can understand it.
# Deer Park period 鹿苑時 (represented by the ''[[Āgama (Buddhism)|Āgama]] sūtras'' 阿含經), represent a gradual and simpler teaching.
# the [[Mahayana|Vaipulya]] period 方等時 (represented by the ''[[Vimalakirti Sutra|Vimalakīrti Sūtra]]'' 淨名經 and so forth); this and the next period represent gradually deeper teachings.
# the Prajñā period 般若時 (represented by the ''[[Prajnaparamita|Prajñāpāramitā sūtras]]'' 般若經).
# Lotus-Nirvāṇa period 法華涅槃時, [[Lotus Sutra|Lotus sutra]] and [[Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra|''Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra'']], a teaching that is neither sudden nor gradual.
=== Huayen ===
Likewise, the [[Huayan|Huayen]] school had a five period panjiào of dharma teachings. According to patriarch [[Guifeng Zongmi|Zongmi]]:<ref>Buswell, Robert E. (1991), The "Short-cut" Approach of K'an-hua Meditation: The Evolution of a Practical Subitism in Chinese Ch'an Buddhism. In: Peter N. Gregory (editor)(1991), Sudden and Gradual. Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, p. 233</ref>
# The [[Hinayana|Hinayana-teachings]], especially the [[Sarvastivada|Sarvastivadins]]
# The [[Mahayana|Mahayana-teachings]], including [[Yogacara]], and [[Madhyamaka]]
# The "Final Teachings", based on the [[Tathagatagarbha|Tathagatagarbha-teachings]], especially the [[Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana|''Awakening of Faith'']]
# The [[Subitism|Sudden Teaching]], "which 'revealed' (''hsien'') rather than verbalised the teaching"
# The Complete, or Perfect, Teachings of the ''Avatamsaka-sutra'' and the Hua-yen school.
==See also==
* [[Yana (Buddhism)]]
* ''[[Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta]]''
* [[Dharmacakra#Multiple turnings of the Wheel|Dharmacakra]]
* [[Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://info-buddhism.com/Three_Turnings_of_The_Wheel_of_Dharma_Jay_Garfield.html The Three Turnings of The Wheel of Dharma – Why They Are Each Essential to All of Us] – Jay L. Garfield
* [http://cdn.fpmt.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2008/10/three_turnings_of_the_wheel_of_the_dharma.pdf?729fb1 Three Turnings of the Wheel of the Dharma] – James Blumenthal
{{Buddhism topics}}
[[Category:Cultural lists]]